Why do we keep returning to the classics? Why do works like The Iliad, Beowulf, and The Divine Comedy hold such a central place in education, particularly in the homeschool tradition? The answer lies in their timeless ability to shape not just minds, but hearts. These works are more than stories—they are treasuries of wisdom, beauty, and truth that continue to speak to each generation. Drawing from the insights of Dave Raymond’s History Series, here are five reasons why reading the classics is essential for students today.

Why Read the Classics?

1. They Teach Us to Be Fully Human

The classics explore universal questions: What is justice? What is love? What does it mean to live a good life? These are not abstract ideas—they are the very questions every person must wrestle with. In The Iliad, for example, Achilles’ pride leads to devastating consequences, not just for himself but for his comrades and his people. As Dave explains in his Antiquity course, this ancient epic challenges readers to reflect on how their own choices ripple outward, shaping their families and communities. Through such stories, students encounter the complexities of human nature and learn what it means to live thoughtfully and intentionally.

2. They Connect Us to Our Heritage

The classics form the backbone of Western civilization. They have shaped art, politics, philosophy, and even faith throughout history. To read them is to step into a grand conversation that stretches across centuries. Dante’s Divine Comedy, for instance, is not merely a theological exploration—it is a cornerstone of Western literature that has inspired artists from Botticelli to T.S. Eliot. Understanding Dante’s vision of sin, redemption, and divine love helps students grasp the profound influence these ideas have had on both medieval and modern thought. By engaging with such works, students gain a deeper appreciation for their cultural heritage.

3. They Train the Mind

Reading the classics is challenging—and that’s exactly why they are so valuable. These works demand careful attention, critical thinking, and perseverance. Shakespeare’s intricate plots or Dostoevsky’s probing moral dilemmas require readers to engage deeply with language and ideas. In a course like Christendom, students encounter works like Beowulf, where the hero’s battles against Grendel and the dragon symbolize humanity’s struggle against evil. Grappling with these texts sharpens analytical skills while fostering an understanding of virtue and vice—skills that serve students not only in academics but in life itself.

4. They Inspire Virtue

The heroes (and even villains) of classic literature provide powerful examples of character formation. Beowulf’s courage in facing insurmountable odds offers a model of self-sacrifice and bravery. Similarly, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates quiet integrity in standing for justice despite overwhelming opposition. As Dave Raymond emphasizes in his courses, these stories are not just about entertainment—they are about shaping hearts toward what is good, true, and beautiful. Students who read these works are inspired by figures who embody virtues worth emulating.

5. They Bring Us Together

Reading the classics creates shared experiences that transcend time and place. When families read aloud from Little Women or discuss Huckleberry Finn’s moral dilemmas over dinner, they join a tradition of storytelling that has united people across generations. As Dave often notes in his lectures, these works connect us not only to history but also to one another by fostering meaningful conversations about life’s most important questions.

Making the Classics Accessible

For families new to the classics or hesitant about diving into them, starting small can make all the difference. Choose one work that resonates with your family—perhaps an adventure like The Hobbit or a poignant story like Anne of Green Gables. Read aloud together and take time to discuss its themes as a family.

The goal is not merely to check books off a list but to cultivate wonder and wisdom through these timeless treasures. As Dave Raymond’s History Series reminds us again and again: the classics don’t just educate—they elevate.

By integrating these great works into your homeschool curriculum, you’ll be giving your children more than an education—you’ll be equipping them with tools for life: tools for thinking deeply, living virtuously, and connecting meaningfully with others.

Looking for Classics for Your High Schooler?

Picking and choosing your book list can be overwhelming. If you aren’t sure where to start, we’ve narrowed it down for you!

While this list is by no means exhaustive, it is a little more extensive than our middle school list. Some of you might think this list is far too ambitious, while others might find it meager. This list is simply a guide. You may add or detract from it. You may feel your child is not quite ready for some of these works, or maybe they’ve already read several of them. That is the beauty of homeschooling! You know your child better than anyone, so we leave it in your hands. We simply want to suggest books we believe are worth placing in front of your child—the books we’ve read and love.

Are Classics Too Hard for High Schoolers?

Many of these books are difficult. Help your child and encourage them, by all means, but never stop leading them to greater and greater heights of knowledge. There are depths of wisdom from ancient authors just waiting to be plumbed. Plato wrote, “the goal of an education is to love what is worth loving.” Teach your children to love great books by loving them yourself.

If you want more than a self-paced course to walk your student through the classics, make sure to check out our live literature courses that operate each semester. New students are welcome any time!

Here are some of our favorite classics your high schooler may be ready to read. We’ve organized them chronologically (including some that were written in a particular era, some written about it).

ANTIQUITY

• Antigone, Sophocles
• Oedipus, Sophocles*
• The History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides
• Histories, Herodotus
• Plutarch’s Lives
• Faerie Queene, Spenser
• Till We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis
• The Poetics, Aristotle
• Iliad, Homer*
• The Epic of Gilgamesh**
• Metamorphoses, Ovid**
• The Aeneid, Virgil
• Paradise Lost, John Milton
• The Republic, Plato

CHRISTENDOM

• The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Bede
• Canterbury Tales, Chaucer**
• On the Incarnation, Athanasius
• Hamlet, William Shakespeare
• The Inferno, Dante
• Confessions, Augustine
• The Rule of St. Benedict
• The Holy Bible
• The Everlasting Man, G.K. Chesterton
• Collected Poems of John Donne
• Henry V, William Shakespeare
• The Talisman, Sir Walter Scott

AMERICAN HISTORY

• The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader, selected by Wilson Kimnach, Kenneth Minkema, and Douglas Sweeney
• Democracy in America, Alexis DeTocqueville, abridged and edited by Richard D. Heffner
• Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
• Common Sense, Thomas Paine
• Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane*
• “Young Goodman Brown,” Nathaniel Hawthorne
• “The Minister’s Black Veil,” Nathaniel Hawthorne
• “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Edgar Allen Poe*
• “The Raven,” Edgar Allen Poe
• “Bartleby the Scrivener,” Herman Melville
• A History of the American People, Paul Johnson (Selections from this hefty tome are great for multiple lessons.)
• The Legacy of the Civil War, Robert Penn Warren
• Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson
• Collected Poems of Anne Bradstreet
• Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
• The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne

MODERNITY

• The Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Emmuska Orczy
• A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
• Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
• The Portable Romantic Poets, edited by W.H. Auden
• Great Expectations, Dickens
• 1984, George Orwell
• Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
• Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
• The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald**
• Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
• Greenmantle, John Buchan
• The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
• Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh**
• The Nine Tailors, Dorothy Sayers
• Brave New World, Aldous Huxley**
• “Harvard Address,” Alexander Solzhenitsyn
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips, James Hutton
• Rasselas, Samuel Johnson
• Collected Poems of T.S. Eliot
• Collected Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins
• Collected Poems of John Keats
• Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton
• The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom*
• The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner**
• The Ransom Trilogy, C.S. Lewis

* Contains violence that may be a bit mature for some audiences

** Contains sexual content that may be a bit mature for some audiences

Challenging Your High Schooler With Classics

If you haven’t read a lot of these titles, don’t be discouraged. It always seems like a lifetime adventure to read all of the great books out there. Read them along with your teen or aloud as a family. You may find that this becomes your family’s “Want to Read” list!

History that Complements the Classics

History is best understood through the dual lenses of dramatic story and godly wisdom. Dave Raymond teaches history by applying a Christian worldview to characters, events, theology, literature, art, and religious beliefs of a culture. His classes are available individually, in a bundle, or as part of our membership.